Electric annunciator or code-signaling device.



N.L.ANTHONY. ELECTRIC ANNUNGIATOR 0R CODE SIGNALING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED F312. 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

N. L. ANTHONY. ELECTRIC ANNUNGIATOR 0R CODE SIGNALING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED PEB.2, 1914.

1,1 31,813. Patented Mar. 16, 1915;

2 BHEETS'SHBET 8.

To aZLwhom it may concern:

UNITED STATES rATnrrr oration.

NOEL L. ANTHONY, OF GRANSTON, RHODE ISLAND.

ELECTRIC ANNUNCIATOB 0R CODE-SIGNALING- DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 16, 1915.

Application filed February 2, 1914.. Serial No. 815,967.

vBe it known that I, NOEL L. ANrHoNY, a citizen of 'the United States, residing at -Cranston,-in the county-of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric .Annunciators or Code-Signaling l )evices, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in electric annunciators or call-bell apparatus for sounding code signals at a plurality of distributed points.

The objectof my improvement is to provide. a device of this character which will be of simple construction, less liable to get out oforder, and more positive in action than the usual arrangement employed for like purposes. 1

The invention is fully described in the following specification, illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which like refer ence characters designate like parts.

In the drawings :Fi gure 1 is a plan view of the improved device showing the mechanism contained in the main frame or casing; Fig. 2 is a cross-sectionalyiewof the same taken on the line 1 &-A of Fig. 1,

n so

looking in the direction indicated by the arrow (2, Fig. 3 is an end view of the apparatus illustrating its electrical connections in circuit with a call-bell and battery; Fig. 4: is a sectional view through the contactmechanism showing the constructional details thereof.

My improved device consists essentially 'ofa fiat platen or cal1board provided with fixed electrical contacts arranged in series in code order and having a movable contactmember adapted to be traveled across any one of the seriesythe object being to make and break the electrical circuit to sound the bells or .other annunciators in accordance 'with predetermined signals. The 'mechanism of the device is operated manually by ,a suitable hand-lever to shift the movable contact-member to one end of the call-board and-after the indicating-means has been adjusted to the desired signal, the contactmember is drawn across the fixed-contacts by the reverse action of the lever.

Referring first to. Figs. 1 and 2, B designates the main box or casing in which the operating parts ofthe device are contained and C is a metal plate secured to its base and adapted to serve as a mounting for the mechanism. Screwed into the plate C is a studc on which is pivoted an arm or lever D having a gear D formed integral with or attached to its hub d. Pivoted on a stud e is a-handdever E formed at one end with a toothed quadrant E adapted to engage the gear D. The opposite end of the lever E carries a handle 6 preferably constructed of vulcanized rubber or some other insulating material to protect the operator from possible electrical shocks.

Mounted on the stud a above the arm D are two overlapping arms f, f which constitute the end-members of a usual form of lazy-tongs F. Jointed to the ends of the arms f, f are two intermediate tongs-levers f, f pivoted together at f and having their ends connected with the opposite endrnembers f F. The arm I) is connected to opcrate the, lazy-tongs it, as later described, by means of the pivot screw f" in the arm 7', which is screwed into its end, see Fig. 2.. The pivot-screw f" at the opposite end of the lazy-tongs is screwed into a member 9 which is formed with a hub g" surrounding a cross-rod G and secured thereto ,.,.th.rough any suitable means such, for instance, as the pin g The ends of the rod G- are held fixedly in bearings it, hforn'ied on the cylindrical members H, H, which latter are bored to two horizontal guiding-rods I, I on which they slide. The side rods or guides l, I are supported 'at their ends by two metal plates or strips J, J

fastened to the ends 6, b of the casing B by suitablescrews j, see Figs. 2 and at. The strips J, J also serve as a support for the fixed-contact platen or calLboard K which which connects all of the series of contacts together electrically and further serves as a means for connecting them in circuit with the battery and bells. The studs Z may be soldered to the plate or driven into holes punched or drilled therein as shown in. Fig.

Ill

4, bein arranged to project through corresponding holes-in the insulating-board K. The upwardly projecting ends of the studs Z are preferably slightly rounded off or convexed to adapt them to allow the springpressed plunger or wiper M to pass freely over them.

The wiper M is carried by the movable contact-member N which is arranged as follows: Extending upwardly from the slidemembers H, H are two lugs or arms it, h in which is mounted a cross-rod G extending parallel with the rod G above the board K. Mounted to slide on the rod G is the movable contact-member N which is constructed as shown more particularly in Fig. 4. Its main hub-portion n is bored axially at n to receive the rod' G and carries a key 01.? engaging a longitudinal groove or spline g in the rod to keep it from turning thereon. Projecting horizontally from the hub n is an arm n formed with an axial bore n reaching into the main bore 91/ and opening into a larger counterbore n Mounted in the bore 11; is a slidable plug or plunger 0 formed with a rounded end 0 adapted to engage suitable V-shaped notches or depressionsg in the rod G. The plug 0 is also formed with a head 0 which slides in the counterbore 1 and is engaged by the end of a coiled spring 0 Fitted to the end of the arm n is a finger-grip or handle N which serves-as a closure for the end of the counterbore n and against which the outer end of the spring 0 bears. The handle N is preferably made of hard rubber or other insulating-material and may be secured to the member N in any suitable manner, not-here shown. Projecting from the opposite side of the hub n of the member N is a rectangular extension n provided with a vertical bore a in its under side opening into a larger counterbore n reaching in from its upper side. Mounted to slide therein is the contact-plunger or wiper M, turned down at m to fit the smaller bore 11, and formed with a head m adapted to the counterbore n. The plunger M is also formed with a reduced portion m which passes through a bore m in a plug m driven into the end of the counterbore n Between the plug m and the head m of the plunger M is a coiled spring 112. which serves to normally maintain the plunger in its projected position as illustrated in Fig. 4. Slidably mounted in a cross-bore n of the member n is a detent-pin P having its inner, rounded end adapted to engage a circumferential groove m in the head of the plunger M. The, pin P is operated by a flat spring ;0 secured in place on the outside of the member a by the screw p. Normally, the end of the pin Prests on the side of the head m of the plunger M and the latter is free to play up and downin its bore to a limited extent to allow its end m to pass over the ends. of the raised contacts Z. When, however, the plunger M is retracted in its bore beyond the extent required for it to pass overthe contacts Z, the pin P will be pressed down by its spring p to cause its end to engage the groove m to retain the plunger in its retracted position. The pur-' pose of this lockingor detent-means for the plunger M is to provide that when the device is being set, that is, when the contactmember N is first passed across the board K, it will not act to make contact with the studs Z to ring the calls. In other words, the contact-member N is moved to one end of the board before setting it to ring the desired call and during this time the plunger M must be held out of its operative position in order not to allow it to engage the wrong series of contacts.

The arrangement for operating the detent-means for the plunger M is as follows: uxtending across the board K beyond the last, upper line of contacts Z, is a strip R formed with a beveled face 1', see Fig. 2. The face 1' of the strip R is adapted to engage 'the lower end m of the plunger M after the member N has been carried across all of the contacts. When this engagement takes place the plunger M is forced into its retracted position where it is held by the detent-pin P until released. For releasing the plunger M from its detent I employ a similar strip S at the lower end of the case B, preferably fastened to the cover 6 The strip S has a beveled face .9 which acts against the top of the plunger M as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. The end of the detentpin P being rounded off and the groove m in the plunger M being relatively shallow, the plunger M can be forced free of the pin P with only a very slight resistance.

The contact-member N is carried across the contact-board K through the operation of the lazy-tongs F which is energized from the arm D. -The arm D is moved through its gear connection with the hand -lever E, which latter could be operated manually in either direction, but is preferably controlled by a springT. One end of the spring T is 5 hooked into a hole 6 in the lever E and its opposite end is fastened to a pin or screw t secured in the plate C, see Figs. 1 and 2. I have here illustrated the spring T as adapted to move the lever E in the direction indicated by the arrow m, Fig. 1, and a stoppin a secured in the base of the casing B serves to limit its movement in this direction.

The spring T causes'the lever E to retract the lazy-tongs into its closed position shown by the dash lines in Fig. 1, but the arrangement of these parts could be reversed if desired. Nith this arrangement the lever E is moved manually in the opposite direction menses to extend the tongs to the position shown by full lines in Fig. 1, and it is desirable to accomplish this movement quickly. When the tongs is retracted, however, to draw the 1 contact-plunger across the studs Z and effect employ a governor-device for controlling the spring-actuated movement of the lever E which is arranged as follows: Pivotally fastened to the lever E by the stud u is a rackbar U formed with gear-teeth 'u' on one of its sides. The teeth a mesh with a pinion V mounted rotatably on a stud 'v screwed into the plate 0. A roll u held on a screw a bears against the opposite side of the rack u to hold it in engagement with the gear V, there being enough clearance between the two to allow for the tiltingmoveinent-of the rack as the lever E swings on its pivot. Referring to Fig. 2, the pinion V has its hub 42 formed with ratchet-teeth a)? which are adapted toengage oppositely-arranged teeth a on the hub 42* of a gear V. The gear V is also mounted rotatably on the stud v and is adapted to slide axially thereof to release its teeth '0 from the teeth '0 of the pinion V. A relatively light, spider-like spring '0 not shown in Fig. 1, is mounted on the stud 0 between its head and the face of the gear V and acts against the latter to normally maintain the ratchet-teeth '0 e in engagement The gear V meshes with a pinion W which is formed as a part of or attached rotatively to a gear lV' mounted to turn on a stud w. The gear WV meshes with a pinion W fast with a gear VV rotatable on a stud w, and the gear W in turn, meshes with a .pinion W mounted on the stud w". The purpose of this train of gearing V'W, above described, is to retard the movement of the lever E under the action of its spring T and any other suitable mechanism might be substituted in its place. For instance, a friction-band operating against a drum during its rotation in one direction and free therefrom during the op posite rotation would effect the same purpose. Again, if desired, several of the gears of the train in the present arrangement could be dispensed with and adjustable fanblades applied to the main gear V to serve the same purpose of retarding the motion of the parts.

'Referrin trated the arranged in twenty rows so that a like number of different calls can be given on the bells which are distributed at different points in the store orlznilding where the device is in use. The plugs or contacts Z may be arranged in any order or sequence in each row,

to Figs. 1 and 3, I have illusiixed contacts on the call-board II according to the code decided upon, and Fig. 1 shows six different arrangements. In the last or twentieth row, for instance, there are five contacts arranged at equal intervals, then a longer space intervenes and there is a sequence of four contacts spaced equidistantly. After the four contacts, a still longer space intervenes, and then the code is repeated with five and four again making the call five rings and then four, or fifty-four as it might be designated. On the fifteenth row, as here shown, the contacts are arranged with first a series of four then a series of three, repeating with longer intervals between each two signals.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, it will be observed that the end b of the casing Bis formed with an opening I) through which the finger-lever N PIOJQCtS when the contact-member N is carried to the lower end of the callboard K. Along the upper edge of this opening is a series of indices 6 numbered from one to twenty. These register" with the rows of plugs Z having the individual code arrangement above explained, and

the notches g in the rod G also correspond therewith. Through this arrangement the contact-member N can be set for engagement with the contacts of any desired signal code and the plunger-plug O in the member N acts to engage the proper notch g to hold it in position on the rod G during its trav- 'erse over the ends of the contacts. Referring to Fig. 3, the backing-plate L in which the contacts Z are mounted is connected by a wire 3 to a binding-post Y secured in the side 6 of the casing B. A second bindingpost Y is connected by the wire 1/ to the end plate or strip J which supports the ends of the rods I, I. Since the members H, H which carry the rods G, G and slide on the rods I, I are of metal, the contact-member,

N mounted onthe rodG will be electrically connected to the binding-post Y. From the binding-post Y a wire 2 extends to the bell Z and a second wire 2 leads from the binding-post Y to one pole of a battery X, while from the other pole thereof a wire 2 leads to the bell Z. Inplace of the battery X here symbolically illustrated any other suitable source of electricity can he employed, and while I have only shown one hell Z it will be understood that usually a plurality of the same or other sounding devices are arranged within the circuit.

The operationof the complete device is a as follows: My new device is designed par- I idle.-

ous clerks in the different departments.

The main apparatus comprised in the casing which are in circuit with a suitable source of electricity such as the. usual battery X. IVhen it is required to send out a call for any certain individual the operator first moves the hand-lever E to the position illustrated in Fig. l. The lever E acts through the quadrant E and gear D to swing the arm D and extend the lazy-tongs F to the position illustrated by full lines in Fig. 1. While the lever E is being thus operated manually its attached rack-bar U will r0- tate the gear" V, but the gear V will remain That is to say, the friction of the gears in the train V W* will be greater than the resistance of the spring e which holds the ratchets o and o in engagement and hence the gear V will rotate free from thegear V. This allows the lever E to be operated with a comparatively free movement, the only resistance being that of the spring T, and hence the lazy-tongs F can be extended very quickly. This extension of the lazy-tongs causes the rods Gr, G which carry the contact-member N to move toward the lower end of the call-board K while the supports H, H slide on their guiding-rods I,"I. During this movement of the contact-member N across the board the spring-plunger M is withheld by its detentpin P from engagement with the fixed contacts Z until the handle N is carried through the opening I) in the end of the casing in convenient position to be grasped by the operators' other hand. Now, say, for instance, clerk number twenty. who answers to the call fifty-four is to be called, then the operator will slide the contact-member N to the last index numbered in accordance, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. After the contactmember N is thus adjusted it will be retained in its proper position on the rod G by the detent-plunger O which engages the appropriate notch g in the rod. Meanwhile the upper end of the plunger M has been engaged by the beveled face 8 of the strip S to release it from the detent-pin P, and the spring m will have caused it to be projected downwardly into position for its lower end to wipe across the contact-plugs Z, see Fig. 4.

The device is now set for operation and its further action is entirely automatic. The operator merely releases the handle 6 and the spring T will then act to swing the lever E in the direction indicated by the arrow a2, Fig. 1. This causes the lazytongs F to be contracted or drawn together and the contact-member N will be drawn up across the board K. As the member N passes over the row of contacts with which its plunger M is in alinement, the end of the latter will wipe across the contact-plugs Z and make and break the electrical circuit at intervals as arranged. As before stated, this active movement of the contact-member is regulated by the governor-device comprising the gear-train VWV*. That is to say, the gears V, V will be held in engagement through the ratchet-teeth '0 'v and hence I the whole train of gears must be turned from the movement of the rack-bar U. The friction of the gears will cause a retardation in the movement of the lever E which controls the lazy-tongs F and therefore the contact-member N will be moved quite slowly. In this way. the contact-plunger or wiper M iscaused to make contact with each stud Z during a relatively extended period and therefore the bells will be rung with the required intervals of sound and silence. After the contact-member N has been passed over all of the fixed-contacts in one row its plunger M will ride up on the beveled strip R and be carried into its retracted position to be held by the detent-pin P again. In this way the plunger M is withheld from engagement with the contact-stud Z until the member N is again carried to the opposite end of the call-board K.

It will be seen that my new invention provides an eflicient device for the purpose specified without requiring the usual complicated arrangement of clock-motors or other operating mechanism. In most apparatus of this sort it is necessary to wind up a spring-motor or to drive the mechanism from some; other source of power whereas with my improvement the mechanism is practically automatic and only requires a simple movement of the hand-lever. My new device is therefore more positive in action and less liable to get out of order and far less expensive to manufacture.

Various modifications might be made in the form and structure of the parts of my device without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

' Therefore, without limiting myself to the exact construction shown and described, what I claimis 1. In an electric signaling-device, the combination with a plurality of series of fixedcontactsarranged in code order, of a movable coritact-member,- and manually-controlled mechanically-actuated means for operating the movable contact-member to draw it across any one of the series of fixed-contacts. v

2. In an electric signaling-device, the combination with a plurality of fixed-contacts arranged in rows in code order, of a movable contact-member adapted to be drawn across the different rows of fixed-contacts, a lazytongs for moving said contact-inember,-and

a hand-lever for operating the lazy-tongs. 130

3. In an electric signalingdevice, the combination with a plurality of rows of fixedcontacts arranged in'code order in a common plane, of a morable contact-member, a hand-lever for operating said contact-mem ber to draw it across any one of the rows of fixed-contacts, and a spring for controlling the operation of the hand-lever.

4:. In an automatic code-signaling device, the combination with a plurality of rows of fixed-contacts spaced at intervals in code order, of a movable contact-member, means for adjusting said contact-member in relation to the difi'erent rows of fixed-contacts,

and a hand-lever for operating the contactmember to cause it to be drawn across the fixed-contacts.

'5. In an electric code-signaling device, the combination with a plurality of rows of fixed-contacts arranged in code order, of a movable contact-member, means whereby said contact-member may be moved across any one row of the fixed-contacts, a handlever for operating the contact-member to move it across the fixed-contacts in one direction, and a spring for operating the hand-lever to move the contact-member across the fixed-contacts in the opposite direction.

6. In an electric code-signaling device, the combination with a plurality of rows of fixed-contacts arranged in code order, of a movable contact-member, means whereby said contact-member may be adjusted into alinement with any one of the rows of fixedcontacts, manuallycontrolled means for moving the contact-member across any one of the rows of fixed-contacts, and a governor-mechanism for controlling the speed of movement of the contact-member to regulate the timing of its engagement with the individual fixed-contacts.

7 In an electric code-signaling device,the combination with a plurality of rows of fixed-contacts arranged in code order, of a movable contact-member, means whereby said contact-member may be adjusted into alinement with the different rows of fixedcontacts, means for drawing said contactmember across any one of the rows of fixedcontacts, a spring for operating said means, and a governor-mechanism for controlling the movement of the contact-member under 7 action of the spring to regulate the timing of .tact between the contact-member and the fixed-contacts during its movement by the manual-means, means for releasing the detent-means, and a spring to move the contact-member across the fixed-contacts in the opposite direction to cause engagement therebetween.

10. In an electric signaling-device, the combination with a plurality of series of fixed-contacts arranged in code order, of a movable contact-member adapted to be drawn across any one of the series, means for drawing the contact-member across the different series of fixedcontacts, a wiper carried by said contact-member and adapted to engage the fixed-contacts, detent-means for withholding the wiper from engagement with the fixed-contacts during the movement of the contact-member in one direction, and means to release the detent-means to allow engagement of the wiper with the contacts during the movement of the contact-member in the opposite direction.

11. In an electric signalingdevice, the

combination with a casing, of a call-board inclosed by said casing, a plurality of fixedcontacts arranged in rows in code order on the call-board, a movable-contact-member, means for adjusting said contact-member into alinement with the individual rows of fixed contacts, and manually controlled means for drawing said contact-member across the contacts.

12. In an electric signaling-device, the combination with a call-board, of a plurality of rows of spaced-apart fixed-contacts arranged in series on said board, a movable contact-member, means for adjusting said contact-member into position to engage any one of the series of fixed contacts, and manually-controlled means for drawing said contactmember across the board to cause it to engage with the fixed-contacts of the different series.

18. In an electric signaling device, the

, combination with a call-board, of a plurality of spaced-apart contacts fixed on said board and arranged in series in code order, a movable contact-member, means for adjusting said contact-member into position to engage any one of the series of fixed-contacts, mannally-controlled means for operating said contact-member to draw it across the board,

andmeans to govern the movement of the contact-member to regulate the intervals of v engagementbetween the latter and the fixedcontacts. ,7 p

- 1a. In an electric signaling-device, the

combination with a call-board having a plurality-of contact-plugs thereon arranged in rows in code order, of a slidable contactmember adjustable laterally' of said callboard, means to adjust said contact-member into alinement with any one of the rows of contact-plugs, means to slide the contact member along the rows of contact-plugs, a

' wiper carried by said contact-member to contacts, and means to render the Wiper inoperative during the movement of the contact-member in one direction.

16. In an electric signaling-device, the combination with a call-board having a plurality of hed-contact's arranged in rows in code order,- guide-rods arranged parallel with the sides of the call-board, a crossrod arranged above the call'board, slidemembers supporting the cross-rod and adapted to slide on the guide-rods, a contact-member adjustable along the cross-rod, and means on said contact-member for en gaging the fixed-contacts when the crossrod is slid longitudinally of the guide-rods.

17. In an electric signaling-device, the

combination with a call-board having a plurality of fixed-contacts arranged in rows in code order, of a cross-rod arranged above the call-board, guiding-means to adapt the cross-rod to slide in parallel relation to the call-board, a contact-member adjustablelongitudinally of the cross-rod, detent-means to maintain the contact-member in appropriate relation to the individual rows of fixciad-contacts, and means to slide the crossro 18. In an electric signaling-device, the combination with a call-board having a plurality of fixed-contacts arranged in rows in code order, of a member slidable above the vface of the call-board, a contact-member adjustable on said sliding-member to adapt it to engage the different rows of fixed-contacts, a lazy-tongs connected to operate the sliding-member, a hand-lever for actuating the lazy-tongs, and a spring for operating said lever.

19. In an electric signaling-device, the 1,

combination with a call-board having aplu rality of fixed-contacts arranged in rows in code order, of a contact member slidable across the different rows of fixede'contacts, means whereby said contact-member can engage the fixed-contactsv when movingin one direction only, a lazy-tongs for sliding the contact-member, av lever .for 'Gperatingthe' lazy-tongs, a spring-for moving the lever in onevdirection, and a speed-governing device adapted to be driven from the lever when the latter is moved by its spring but free therefrom when [the lever is moved in the opposite direction.'-

., 20. In" an. electric signaling-device, the

combination with a series of fixed-contacts, of a contact-member 'slidable along the same, a spring-pressed plunger adapted to be normally projected into position to engage the fixed contacts, a spring for operating the plunger, means to engage the plunger to retract it from its position of engagement with the fixed-contacts, detent-means to retain the plunger in its retracted position, and means to release the detent to allow the projection of the plunger into operative position.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

NOEL L. ANTHONY. Witnesses: RALPH C. LEWIS,

HERBERT K. ALLARD.

topics: at this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

